Power transmission mechanism



oct. 11, 1931sf R, w, HALL, 2,132,951

POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed Ii'arch 4, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RALPH w.r.1ALL.

ATTO EY Oct. 1'1, 1938. R, w, HALL 2,132,951

POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed Hatch 4, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 7, lig.

mvENToR RALPH w. HALL.

()cf..11,193s. RWHALL l2,132,951

POWER TRANSMISS ION MECHANISM Filed Haren 4, 1935 :s sheets-sheet :s

A mvemon RALPH w. HALL..

Patented oct. 11, 193s 2,132,951 Y -POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Ralph Hall, (Wyoming, Ohio, assignorto The k E.V H., Bardes Range & Foundry Company,

Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Y Application March 4, 1935, seria-1 No. 9,281

" 4 claims.V (ol. 74-277) This-invention relates to powertransmission mechanism generally and particularly to those in which the driven member is automatically released from operative connection with the driver 5 when the driven member is subjected to an abnormal load.

The invention is particularly suitable for driving the screw conveyor of an automatic stoker;KV and controlling the speed thereof. In such it is l common practice to employ a severable connection, Such as a shear-pin, as the driving coupling between the power transmission device and the l conveyor, in order to protect thev mechanismA against damage when any hard foreign'element l that may be in the coal becomes caught'in the conveyor. causing it to jam, in which casethe obstruction must be vremoved andV the .severed shear-pin replaced with a new one' before normal operation of the stokerjcan be resumed. The customary location of the shear-pin makes it difcult and somewhat hazardous for the novice toiremove the mutilated and broken pin and to insert aY new oneand this ,is always a dirty job that is hated by everyone. Y Therefore, one object of this invention is the provision of a `power-transmission device comprising a novel arrangement of planetary gearing and associated mechanism and which includes a driven shaft having a non-severable connection with the conveyor.

Another object is the provision of, transmission mechanism having a safety device, in the form of a shear-pin orits equivalent, lwhich is engaged with a normally dormant element under stress` and which will serve to automatically release the mechanism from driving relation with` the conveyor, regardless of the non-severable connection therebetween, when the, conveyor becomes jammed by lodgement of foreign matterjor other- Y wise becomes overloaded.

Anotherob-ject is toprovide an arrangement of the` safety device whereby the shear-pin, or its equivalent, is readily accessible and so simplied that replacement or resetting thereof may be made easily and quickly by the merest Vnovice without the use of any tools. e

Another object is to provide means for in dicating'the functional status ofthe safety device.

5 VAnother object is the provision of means, asSociated with the safety device, whereby an electric circuitmay be automatically opened cr'closed when the transmission gearing is released from drivingrelation with the conveyor as aforesaid.

These and other objects willV be apparent V'from 'the'.following description and accompanying `drawings in which: Y

, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stoker'mechanism embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofthe hopper and 5 the Vdriving mechanism vfor the stoker.

3 is a plan view of the power-transmission. and speed-regulating device.`

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation,

1 taken substantially on a line 4-4 of; Fig. 3. 10 Y "Fig 5 is an end elevation of. the power-trans? Vmission and speed-regulating device.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional elevation, taken substantiallyV on' a line 6-6 of Fig. 4, showing the planetary gearing of one speed ratio and its asso- 15 ciated mechanismas released from driving relation.

" Fig. 'l isa cross-sectionalk elevation, taken substantiallyvon a line 1-1 of Fig. 4, showing the planetarygearing of another speed ratio with its 20 associated mechanism in driving relation.

Fig.- 8 'is a; cross-sectional elevation, similar 'to Fig. '7,VY showing theisame planetary gearing Yand associated mechanism at the instant of being released from driving relation;

Fig. 9 isan end View oi a form of'safety device; in which a 'shear-pinis employed to denne and holdflthe detentcrank-shaft in position under stress for 'driving Vrelation of the planetary gearing.

, 30 Fig. 10 is a companion view to Fig. 9, showing thepositionof the detent crank-shaft when the planetary gearingV isreleased from driving relation bythe severing of the shear-pin'due toan overload. A 1

Fig. 11 is an ,end view Aof another form of safety device,inwhich Ymeans other than a shear-pin is employed to define and hold the `detent crank- Yshaft in position under stressv for driving relation `of the planetary gearing; v, 40

Fig. 12 is' a companion View to Fig. 11showing the position of the detent crank-shaft when the planetary gearing is released from driving relationv by an voverload on the retaining means.

' Fig. 13 is anrend View ofone of the Iforms of 45 safety device, showing the adaptation of an i annunciator control. s

f In the drawings,"20 representsV a coal hopper mounted upon a hopper base 2 I. A conventional type of furnace 22 embodies a retort structure 5 0 23 which comprises a nre-bowl 24, a conduit portion 25 and-an air chamber 26 which is extended through the hopper base 2| and communicates with a fan housing 21 attached to the hopper base. A fan 28, operating within the housing 21, 55

supplies air under pressure to the air chamber 26 from which it is delivered yto the fire-bowl 24 through a plurality of. openings 26o. 2S is a screw type conveyor which has its receiving end disposed within the hopper base 2| and extends therefrom through the conduit 25 into the fire-bowl 24. Thus conveyor 25 is adapted to transport coal from the hopper2 to the firebowl 24 and the fan 23 to supply air to the re through the chamber 26. While the aforesaid elements of a stoker and furnace are more or less commonplace per se, they enter into this subject matter insofar as they are combined with the novel elements of this invention.

The driving mechanism for the conveyor 25 and the fan 28 may comprise any form of power device but, in this instance, I have shown an electric motor 3i) having a drive shaft 3| upon which are mounted the fan 23 and a drive pulley 32.

In order Vto use a constant speed motor of standard type and number of R. P. M. and yet obtain a regulable and relatively slow speed of the conveyor 29 together with noiseless operation and a high efciency in the transmission of power from the motor tothe conveyor, I employ a novel form of power-transmission and speed-regulating device designated generally as 33. This device embodies a drive shaft 34, suitably mounted in a housing 35,`and having secured thereto a pulley 36 which is operatively connected to the pulley 32 by means of a suitable belt 31. Secured to the shaft 34', or preferably integral therewith, is a worm 38 having toothed engagement with a worin-wheel 39 which is keyed by a member 45, 'or otherwise anchored, to a rotatable member 4| loosely journaled on a shaft 42 which is rotatably supported at one end in a portion 35a of housing 35 and at the other end in a cap member 43 suitably mounted on the housing 35 and secured thereto `by boltsv or screws 44. Journaled in the member. 4|, on an axisV spaced from the axis of shaft 42, is a'shaft 45 which carries a plurality 0f piniongears e5, 41, 48 and 49 keyedV thereto by the key 50. The pinion gears 46, 41 and 48 are of'different diameters and have toothed engagement with internal ring gears 5|, 52 and -53 respectively, also of different diameters, the said ring gears being suitably supported for rotation within the housing 35. The pinion gear 49 has toothed engagement with Van internal gear 54 which is keyed by a member 55, or otherwise anchored, tothe shaft 4 2.'A Thus the transmission of power froml shaft 34 to shaft 42 is accomplished by means of a planetary gear `drive if and when either of the ring gears 5l, 52 and 53V is held against rotation and it will be noted that the Speed of shaft 42 is Vcontrolled by the selection of the gear so held. For` example: if gear 53 is held against rotation, shaft 42 will be driven at lthe slowest relative speed; if gear 5| vis so held, the said shaft will be driven at-the fastest relative speed; and if gear 52 is held, the said shaft will be driven at the medium speed; vand if neither ring gear is held, shaft 42 will not be driven but will remain dormant: in other words, the status of the-ring gears determines. whether or not shaft-42 will be driven. To these ends I have provided each ring gear with notch 56 and thereV is valso provided a plurality of detents 51, 58 and 59'-one for each ring gear. Thesev detents are pivotally supported upon a rigid yoke-shaped structure 68 which is anchored to a detent crankshaft 6| mounted for pivotal movement in the housing 35 and normally secured against such movement and held under stress by a pin 62 carried by a housing extension 35D and extending freely through a hole in the shaft 6|. The structure iii? may be constructed as` one piece or, as shown, it may comprise arms Sila, spaced apart and anchored to shaft 5| with a rod Stb extending therebetween on which the detents are pivoted. In order to provide for withholding the detents 51, 58 and 59 from engagement with the notch in the respective ring gears and thus cause the shaft 42 to be dormant when desired, and further to provide a means for selecting a particular detent for engagement with its respective ring gear in order to cause the shaft 42 to: rotate at the desired speed, I have provided a shaft 53 having a facet 63a and an operating handle E4, the said shaft being slidably and pivotally supported at each end in the housing 35 and extending through openings 51a, 58a and 59a in the respective detents which are imposed upon the said shaft by gravity. 'I'he facet 63a is slightly wider than the thickness of a detent so as to permit one of the detents to drop into engagement with the notch in its ring gear when the said facet is longitudinally aligned with the detent. In order to define the longitudinal positio-n of shaft 63 and thus align the facet 63a witha particular detent, and to limit the pivotal movement of the said shaft, there is provided a housing cover plate 55 attached to housing 35 by screws @E and having an extension a wherein the handle 54 is confined and made subject to being indexed into one of three recesses 551), 55C and 65d corresponding to the three detents representmg the three different speeds of the shaft 42. For example: if handle 64 is positioned in recess 65h, the shaft 63 will be positioned radially and longitudinally as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 7 and detent 51 will be permitted to engage the notch 55 in ring gear 5|, holding I said gear against rotation, and thus cause the shaft 42 to be rotated, by means of the planetary gear, drive, at a speed relative to the gear ratio thus selected. And it will be apparent that if handle 64 is positioned in recess 65o, detent 58 will holdring gear 52 thus establishing a relatively slower speed of shaft s2; whereas, if handle 64 is positioned in recess 55d, then detent 59 will hold ring gear 53 and this will establish a still slower-speed of shaft 42. handle 54 is positioned radially as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, regardless of the longitudinal position of shaft '53, none of the detents will be permitted'to engage any of the ring gears which will thus be free to rotate with the result that the shaft 42 will remain dormant.

As clearly shown in Fig. 4, a shaft 42 is preferably arranged to have a non-severable connection with conveyor 29-that is, Va connection which will withstand the maximum of power delivered by the motor. To that end, I prefer to provide a square socket 29a in the end of conveyor 29 and a squared section at the end of shaft 42 for engagement with said socket but it will be apparent that other staunch forms of driving connection will serve eouallx/ as well.

Inasmuch as the functioning of conveyor 29 causes an end thrust thereof toward shaft 42 when said shaft is rotating, the socket 29a is held securely into engagement with said shaft without any fasteningdevice and therefore this form of connection is particularly advantageous for assembling and disassembling-in making replacements-andotherwise. If desired, the longitu- On the other hand,V if

dinal thrust imparted to shaft 42 by conveyor 29 V'l5 may be transmitted to ank anti-friction bearing,

:such as the ball thrust bearing 43ar mounted in cap member 43, and the driving mechanism within .housing may be suitably lubricated by charging the housing with a generous supply of lubricant which .will be suicientlyagitated` by the churning action of the gears and other moving. parts as to assure lubrication for all wearing surfaces. To prevent escape of lubricant around shaft 42, any form of shaft seaLsuch as El, may

be used and the joint between the housing 35 and cap 43 may be sealed in any suitable manner, as by a gasket.

In the event that the conveyor 29 becomes overloaded due to the lodgement of any foreign substance, or otherwise, I haveprovided novelAv power-releasing means for protecting the mechansm against damage-in other words, a safety device. such as the .pin 62 which, as previously noted,

is carried by the housing extension 35h and fixes the normal radial position of thedetent crankshaft 6l, as in Fig. 9; or it may takel the form of a resilient indexing device, such as the plunger 68 and spring 69, the former of which is mounted Vfor sliding motion in the housing 35 and normally engages a cam notch in a member'lll anchored to the detent crank-shaft V6l by a key 1|,

as shown in Fig. 1l, or otherwise.- In either case, t

the normal radial position of the. detent crankshaft 6l is such that a detent may bepositioned tohold a ring gear against rotation,` as shown in Fig. 7. Thus the pull of the planetary drive is transmitted through the ring gear, the detent, the structure 60 and shaft 6l Yto the pin 62 or the plunger 68, all of which are under a stress Y Vpr'oportionateto the load on conveyor 29. When gear will be released from the restraining in` said shaft may be provided with a restoring-arm the loaden the saidzpin'orV plunger'exceeds a desired maximum, the said pin will shear (as shown in Fig. 10) or the plunger 68 will be cammed out of the notch (as shownin Fig. 12) with the result that the detent crank-shaft 6I will be freed as to rotation and the dormant ring fluence of the detent which willY automatically become disengaged from the notch 56 in theY ring gear, as shown in Fig. 8. It will be understood that the shearing strength of pin 62, or the angle of the notch in member 10 together with the power of spring 69, determines the maximum load allowed.

After the cause of the overload has been rei moved, normal koperation maybe resumed by restoring shaft Si to its normal radial position.Vv

In order to facilitate resetting of shaft 6I, the

12 which may be secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by a setscrew 13, as shown in,` Figs. 9 and l0 or the memberV 'l0 maybe provided with an extension 10a., as in Figs. 11 and l2. Furthermore, it will'be apparent; that lthis arrangement provides a means for indicating whether or'not conveyor 29 is operating as the position of arm 'l2 or' extension 10a. is indicative.

Ichave also provided means for automatically throwing off the electriccurrent to the motor, or lfor energizing an annunciator circuit, or both,

when shaft 6i is released bythe shearing of pin E2 or otherwise. This maybe accomplished in various ways by employing any suitable type of Vcircuit control, but, as shown in Figs. 9 to 124 inclusive, I have provided a mercury tube switch 13 held within a pocket in arm 12, or in extension 10a, and embodied in the motor circuit 14 having a main switch 15 so that, when the This means may comprise a shear-pin,l

'detent3crank-shaft 6| is in its normal radial position, the mercury'will maintain a closed lcircuit, as shown in Fig. 9, but when the said shaft is released, as shown in Fig. 10, the mercury will Yflow to the opposite end of the tube thus opening the circuit and shutting off the power to the vmotor... Oras shown in Fig. 13, if desired, a

separate circuit 16 `may be provided including rabattery'. l1, and an annunciator such as a rbuzzer orrb'ell 18 and/or ya lamp-19. AIn this instance the mercury tube would be arranged to maintain an opencircuit when the detent crankshaft 6l is in its normal radial position but upon releasing of said shaft by the shearing of pin 62 or otherwise, the mercury will iiowto 4the opposite end'of thetube thus closingthe circuit Iand energizing the annunciator. It will 'be 'ob- Ivious that both forms of control may be employed inthe same device by the use of either Ytv'v'osepar'ate mercury tubes mounted in arm 12 or a single tube with the motorcircuit 14 at one end and the annunciator circuit 16 at the other. yFrom the foregoing it will be apparent that vthe construction of the power-transmission and speed regulating deviceherein provided accomvplishes new and beneficial resultsthat are distinctly advantageous from ra number of standpoints. Internal planetary gearing-is stronger and more durable than'the kind of spur gearing usually employed for this purpose; it is prac-l tically noiseless; does not require shifting of gear teeth from one engagement to another. in order to vary the speed ratio ;v enables'changes of speed while gears are in operation; and permits of the adaptation of speed changing means that is foolproof and silent in operation and quickly controlled by a mere finger-touch. Furthermore, this form ofdrivingfmechanism permits of the 'embodiment of a mechanical'A safety device that can be associated with a normally dormant membera device whichv is readily accessible and so s'irnpleas to enable the merest novice to instantly restore it to normal operation Without danger or, the use ofv any tools; and one which can be adapted to control an electric circuit. Thus the various V'objects herein set forth have been attained.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A transmission mechanism having a drive shaft and a normally driven shaft mounted'in a casing, a'geared connection between said shafts `arranged so as to normally provide a driving connection therebetween, a normally stationary "shaft pivotally supported in said casing, a detent operatively connected to said normally stationary reffect when an abnormal load on said driven shaft causes severance of said shear-pin and releases said stationary shaft for pivotal movement thereby causing disengagement of said detent from said geared connection.

2.V In a power unit, a planetary gear transmission mechanism mounted in a casing and having a'driven connection'with a power device' and Ya driving connection with a driven member, said mechanism comprising a normally dormant ring gear, displaceable meansto hold said gear in such normal status, said means comprising a normally stationary shaft and a detent, said shaft being pivotally supported in said casing and said detent being'disposed so as to eiect locking'engagement with said gear and pivotal engagement with said shaft at aV point spaced from the axis thereof so that'said shaft may be normally subjected to torsional stress by the load on said gear, and a shear-pin disposed so as to pass through said shaft anda portion of said casing in order to resist said stress and normally secure said shaft against pivotal movement with respect to said casing, said shear-pin being made ineifective by severance when the load on said gear becomes abnormal thus permitting pivotal movement of said shaft and consequent disengagement of said detent from said gear whereupon said transmission mechanism will become ineffective.

3. The combination in a power transmission unit having a drive shaft and a' driven shaft mounted in a casing, a train of gears including a plurality of internal orbit gears and a corresponding plurality of planet gears meshing therewith Vand having a common driven connection with said drive shaft kand a common driving connection with said driven shaft, one of said orbit gears being held normally dormant, displaceable means to hold said gear in such normal status,.said means comprising'a normally stationary .shaftl and a detent, said'shaft being pivr otally supported in said casing and said detent being disposed so as to effect locking engagement with said orbit gear and pivotal engagement with said shaft at a point spaced from the Y axis thereof so that said shaft may be normally subjected to torsional stress by the load on said orbit gear, and a shear-pin disposed so as to pass through said shaft and a portion of said casing in order to resist said stress and normally secure said shaft against pivotal movement with respect to said casing, said shear-pin being made ineffective by severance when the load on said orbit gear becomes abnormal thus permitting pivotal movement of said shaft and consequent disengagement of said detent from said orbit gear whereupon said train of gears willbecome ineffective as to power transmission.

4. The combination in a power transmission unit having a drive shaft and a driven shaft mounted in a casing, a train of gears including a plurality of internal orbit gears and a corresponding plurality of planet gears meshing therewith and having a common driven connection with said drive shaft and a common driving connection with saidY driven shaft, displaceable means to hold a selected orbit gear normally dormant, said means comprising a normally stationary shaft and a detent, said shaft being pivotally supported in said casing and said detent being disposed so as to effect locking engagement with said selected orbit gear and pivotal engageaxis thereof so that said shaft mayl be normally subjected to torsional stress by the load on said selected orbit gear, manually operated means to effect the selection of an orbit gear by controlling the locking engagement of said detent, and a shear-pin disposed so as to pass through said shaft and a portion of said casing in order to resist said stress and normally secure said shaft against pivotal movement with respect to said casing, said shear-pin being made ineective by severance when the load on saidselected orbit gear becomes abnormal thus permitting pivotal movement of said shaft andrconsequent disengagement of said detent from said selected orbit gear whereupon said train of gears will become ineffective as to power transmission.

RALPH W. HALL.

ment with said shaft at a point spaced from the 

